Operating mechanism for oscillat



Dea l2, 1933- c. LoscH OPERATING MECHANISM FOR OSCILLATING GRATES Original Filed Feb. 4. 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet l Sw n.9. WT.. Nh,

c, LOSCH 1,939,177

OPERATING MECHANISM FOR OSCILLATING GRATES Original` Filed Feb. 4, 1929 3 Sheets-Shea?l .2

UIIIIIIIIIIIlIlIIllIlIIIIIIII/IIIIIIIIIIIIIII l Dec. 12, 1933.

c. LoscH 1,939,177

OPERATING MECHANISM FOR OSCILLATING GRATES Dec. 12, 1933.

Original Filed Feb. 4, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 @rada/s ZUSC/ (BjM/Mwq Patented Dec. 12, 1.933

i UNITED sT...Tr.s

PATENT oFFicE OPERATING MECHANISM FOR OSCILLAT- f ING GRATES Cyrenius Losch, Schuylkill, Haven, Pa. I Original application February 4, 1929, Serial No. 337,211. Divided and this application January 30, 1930. Serial No. 424,489

3 Claims. (Cl. 126-169) 0g My invention relates toy new andn useful im- Fig. 8 is anenlarged top plan or edge provements in operating mechanism for Voscilthe 'ratchet mechanism, the arms of thy lating grates, being a division from my cocontrols being broken away and sectio" pending application, Serial No. 337,211, vfiled show the formation of a hole, whereby an February 4, ,1929, and has for one of its objects ating means may be connected with sai 6m to providev mechanism of this kind which is trols. Simple inconstruction, inexpensive in the cost Fg- 9 iS a Side elevatiOIl 0I face VfW4 t of manufacture, Vreliable in action and requiresk with a connecting 10d attached '0,0 thej', little or no attention during operation. arm. Another object of the invention is the pro- Fig. 10 iS a Teal edge View 0f the Same 0 66S vision of 'an effective mechanism for intermit-A tently oscillating a grate.

A further ob'ject of the invention is to construct a unique mechanism for regulating the stroke to control the amount of 4fuel fed to a grate.'

` The invention will bel best understood from a consideration of the Yfollowing vdetailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying "v drawings forming a ,part of this specification, with the understanding, however, that the em-v bodiment illustrated, though practical, isby no means the only embodiment which the invention may assume, wherefore the invention is not confined to any strict conformity with the showing in `the'drawingsy but may be changed and modified in various particulars, so long as such changesand modicationsmark no material departure from the salient features of the invention. l

`With these ends in View, this invention consists in the details of constructionand comb-ina' tion of` elements hereinafter set forth'and then specifically `designated by the claims.

In'orderY that those skilled in the artto which this invention appertains may understand how toY make and use the same, I will describe its con-V struction in detail, referring by numerals to the` accompanying drawings forming a part of this application, in which't- Fig. 1` is a plan view of a furnace grate and operating mechanism constructed in accordance with my invention, the furnace walls being shown in section along a line 1--1` of Fig, 2. f

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1, with the operating mechanism' in elevation.

Fig. 3 is a Vsection on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.V

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged side elevation of the cam.

Fig. `6 is an'edge View thereof looking toward the bottom of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged sideelevation of the pivoted, swinging link and connecting rod, a portion of the link being broken away and shown i 551 msm traumatismeaerefiffemnnore and outer walls 22 while the front cons ing` towardA the right hand edge of Fig.

In carrying out my invention as herei bodied, 15 represents the grate which iso eral rectangular shape and includes the 16- consisting of parallel spaced inner and rtw Walls 17 and 18 respectively, sides 19 and 20,l said'sides also consisting of inner wa an inner Wall 23 and an outer wall 24, a sidered together forming a hollow grate', interior of Whichacts as a water compartm 1n the outer Walls of the sides adjacen bottom as well as adjacent the upper end 9 grate front 20 are formed suitable openin" receive pipes 26, 27,28 and 29. The pipe 2 '6 as an inlet and may be connected by means exible conduit 30, such as a rubber hos a source of Water supply while the pipe 27 acts as an outlet is connected by a flexible` orr-u duit 31, such as a rubber hose, with a p disposal, such as a sewer or a hot water re or the water tubes of a boiler.

The pipes 26 and 27 in connection wi c other pipes 28 and 29, the latter being closje'd Stoppersv 32, such as plugs, act as mountings the grate and pass through apertures 33 i side walls of the furnace 34, said apertures of sufii'cient size to permit movement of the which act as trunnions.,

so that as the water becomes heated, it will re circulate toward the outlet and as will be obvi from the succeeding description, the fuel fire bed, and the ashes will be readily move ward the rear end of the grate. l'

The pipes 26 to 29 inclusive each rest tween la fpair of shoes 35, 36 held in placei b springs 37 and v38, the outer ends of whicl1", e, gage brackets 39, 40 mounted on the side of ,th furnace so that in fact, the lower springsactuall support the grate and any fuel thereon and.` flex suiiciently to permit of the oscillationlo grateY with" littleiorne noise. Anygot for `supporting thefgatat tli'eiendstherof may` un be substituted for the springs and associated parts.

The apertures through which the several pipes or trunnions pass are closed by closure sheets 41 which may be of asbestos held in place by suitable holding means 42, which for convenience of illustration, are shown as rings forced upon the pipes.

Within the water compartment of the botto of the grate are located a plurality of suitably spaced columns 43 which extend from a point adjacent to the rear ofthe grate, to another point short of the front of the grate as shown in Fig. 1 and said columns can be cast with the grate and are hollow so as to form air passageways 44 therethrough from the underside or outside of theV outer wall of the grate bottom and the openings through the bottom or outer wall are the same diameters as the bores through the colurnn, buty the openings through the inner or top'wall are preferably reduced in size and arepreferably ofV conical shape so as to form the air nozzles 45.

The lower ends of the air passageways 44 communicate with an air distributing chamber 46 located on the bottom or underside of the grate;

and while this chamber may be produced in any well known or desired fashion I preferably secure a flange-like frame 47 to the bottom wall of the grate, which frame is of suiilcient size to surround or enclose all of the air passageways and the lower open portion of the frame is then closed by a plate 48 which is provided with a depression 49 at its rear and preferably transversely thereof. It is desirable that said depression, which is like a gutter or channel, run all the way across the air Vdistributing chamber so that as the air enters, it will be guided to all parts of the chamber and practically equalize the air pressure. The `depression has an inlet 50 leading thereto preferably at oneside, which inlet is defined by a short length of pipe 51 projecting through an opening` similar to the ones above described and designated`by the numeral 33 and also closed in a blower 52, the outlet of which'inay be connectedv by a flexible conduit 63 with the pipe 51 and for convenience of illustration, said fan or blower is shown as beingA operated from a source of power 54, such as an electric motor through the medium of a belt 55 and coacting pulleys.

The following descriptionfrelates particularly to subject matter of the invention embodied in this application. To lsome suitable support, preferably the front wall of the furnace, is secured a bracket 56 and on this are mounted two pedestals 57 and 58 which are provided with bearings 59 and 60 respectively to journal the operating shaft 61. This operating shaft carries a ratchet wheel 62 and a jump cam 63, both of which are secured to said shaft so as to partake of the same rotative movement. Y Y f In order to transmit motion'to the operating shaft'61, I have shown what, for convenience, I

It is preferable that the rod 68 be connected with the lower end of the rock-arm l69 while tothe upper end is pivoted a pawl 70 adapted to engage and drive the ratchet wheel 62 in one direction equal tothe full swing of the rock-arm, or any portion thereof, as will be hereinafter more fully explained.

Any movement thus imparted to the ratchet wheel 62 will rotate the operating shaft 61 and Vadvance the rotation of the jump cam 63 a simtion of the adjustable pull bolt 75, one end of which is connected with the grate while on the end passing Vthrough the swinging link are `threaded lsuitable nuts 76 and 77, the latter pref.-

erably having a convex portion to set. in the cavity 78 in the edge of the swinging link at the smaller end of the hole 74.

Push rods 79 are also fastened to the grate and pass through the front wall of the furnace or heating device and project through the upstanding wall 80 of the bracket 56 and about said rods are coiled impulse springs 81, one end of each engaging the inner surface of the upstanding wall 80 and the other end engaging means 82 adjustable on each rod, such means here shown as washers and nuts, the latter having threaded engagement with the rods. Also coiled about said rods on the opposite side of the upstanding wall 80 are cushion springs 83, one end of each engaging the outer surface of the upstanding wall 80,'while the other end engages a cushion plate 84 through which the push rods pass and said plate is held in certain Zadjusted positions relative to the A`upstanding wall 80 by means of bolts 85 passing through the cushion plate and Y havingthreaded engagement with the upstanding wall 80 of the bracket 56.

On the outer ends of the push rods which project through the` cushion plate are mounted stops 86 preferably of rubber, so as to serve as silencers and these stops are adjustable lengthwise of the push rods by means of suitable nuts 87.

The operating shaft 61 being advanced or rotated through the medium of the ratchet wheel 62 as hereinbefore mentioned, the cam 63 engaging the swinging link 71 will pull the grate forward by small increments through the medium of the pull bolt 75 and this action moves the push rods 79 outward since they are attached to the grate, thereby compressing or increasing the compression of the impulse springs 81.

I say that the compression is increased be-4V cause I prefer that both impulse and cushion springs be under compression at all times.

As soon vas the high point of the cam 63 registers with the notch 73 in the swinging link '71, the grate is free to move in the opposite direcashesithereonto shift orV move towardthe lower rear endof fthe.` grate where .a `small .portion vof the ashes 'are discharged during each movement of the grate into areceptacle oriother device for proper rli'sp'osal--` .thereof as desired. The means for .disposingaofthe ashes not-being a part of ithe invention :have inotlbeen illustrated, but for a thorough understanding of the invention, it might be VWell to statethat anfelevato'r. or 'conveyerzc'ould beso disposed. that the rear of the grate has to reecive the ashes and convey them to a point of disposal.

The frequency of the grate movements are taken care of by the ratchet wheel arrangement above referred to, particularly in connection with a pair of rings'88 and 89, the rings of said pair being disposed on` opposite sides of the ratchet wheel, preferably on'hubs 90 formed with the ratchet wheel. These rings-each have a portion of, their periphery raised as indicated at 91 so that when occupying a certain position, they will engage ears 92 on the pawl at opposite sides of its nose 93 and hold the nose of ,said pawl from engagement with the ratchet wheel 62 during a portion of the advancing movement of said In other words, 4the pawl can be held pawl. out of engagement with the Vratchet during any desired portion of the movement of said pawl. For instance, said pawl may engage the ratchet wheel after said pawl has moved one-sixth of its complete travel or the rings 88 and 89 may be so adjusted by moving them clockwise that the pawl will not engage the ratchet wheel until after it has moved three-fourths of its traveling distance. In one case, the ratchet wheel might be moved a distance equal ,to four teethand in the other case, it might be moved a distance equal to one tooth. The rings 88 and 89 are each provided with an arm 94 which are fastened together by suitable fastening devices 95 and in the 'ends of these arms are formed coinciding notches, which when the arms are brought together produce a hole 96 for the reception of any suitable actuating member or element so that the rings may be moved either manually or thermostatically, to either decrease or increase the time .of actual engagement of the pawl with the ratchet wheel, thus securing a wide vrange of idle movement and active Y engagement for varying the movement of the cam 63 and consequently the number of impulses imparted to the, grate inl a specified time for the purpose of shifting the fuel, fire bed and ashes for the Vpurposes stated.

In order to provide a continuous supply of fuel to the grate, a suitable hopper 97 may be mounted at any convenient location with a chute 98 terminating just above the upper forward endof the grate bottom, and in addition tothe lower end of said chute being open, a portion of the rear wall may also have an opening99 across which is disposed a sliding gate 100 mounted in guide- Ways 101 and by adjusting the height of the lower edge of said gate above the grate, thus regulating the effective Asize of the opening 99, the depth of the fuel bed can be varied. vCoal in the hopper 97 is resting upon the grate 15 and therefore at veach intermittent reciprocatory'movement of the grate the fuel resting thereon will be moved rearward relative to Ythis movement may be one-half inch or it may be twoV inches or anything else according to the length of movement of the grate, the kind of fuel used, and under some conditions the length of time the grate rests between movements. y

This step by step movement of the fuel will finally carry the saine over the main .part ofthe grate where combustion takes place and as the bed'of fire gradually moves'rearwardiit. will be turned into the` products of combustion' or ashes `and said ashes will 'be' forced onlandion bythe movement of the bedA cfvre and the new fuel ofthe rear'until said ashes drop off the rear end Y of thefgrate.4

FWhen anfireisburning grate Zwillcause-.ashes `to drop .offthe rear. end

thereof, will shift the bed-of re rearwardly and will V4add new fuel to the zone of combustion so that it will 'take fire from the preceding burning fuel.

While I have shown and described a pair of 'impulse springs, cushion springs, and push rods, I desire it understood that one or more of these parts4 can be employed to accomplish the desired results.

From the foregoing, it is believed that the advantages of the invention in practical use will be appreciated, and they need not therefore be referred to in more detail.

A mechanism for a furnace or boiler constructed in accordance with the invention cannot only be built cheaply and operated economically, but requires very little attention and for reasons which have been explained in full, a wide range of regulation is possible.

Of course I do not wish to be limited to the Yexact details Aof construction as herein shown, as

these may be varied within thelimits of the appended claims Without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and useful is:-

1. A grate mounted for oscillating movement, a bracket supported adjacent. one end of the grate, push rods connected with the grate and passing through a portion of the bracket, springsy mounted on said push rods on opposite sides of that portion of the bracket through which said push rods pass for opposed actions, means carried by the push rods engaging the ends of the springs on the inside of the bracket, a cushion plate engaging the springs on the outside of the bracket and through which the push rods pass,

eachnoverhnt of the.

means to adjustably connect said cushion plate with the bracket, stopsadjustably mounted on the outer ends of the push rods for coaction with the cushion plate, and means to move the grate in a direction for compressing the springs on the inside of the bracket,` said means releasing the grate at the end of the .movement whereby the springs on the inside of the bracket will move the grate in the opposite direction and said last mentioned movement will be suddenly arrested by contact of the stops with the cushion plate.

` 2. A grate for oscillating movement, a bracket supported adjacent one end of the grate, push rods connected with the grate and passing through a portion of the bracket, springs mounted on said push rods on opposite sides of .that portion of the vbracketthrough which'said push rods pass for a shaft Journaued inthe pedestais, a jump-cam mounted' on .said shaft forecoaction withilthe v swinging link whereby the latterwill be actuated tomove the gratelby `small increments in one direction and nally release the same formovement bythe springs inthe opposite direction and means to transmit an intermittent motion to said shaft. 3. The structure set forth in claim 2 in combination with? a ratchet wheel xedto said shaft,

lrings having peripheral` enlargements; lsaid Vrings 

